This guide explains exactly how to create and use your first virtual card to make secure online payments. We'll walk you through generating a unique card number, setting custom spending limits, and using your card at checkout. Understanding this simple process is the key to unlocking a safer, more private way to manage your transactions and protect your financial data from start to finish.

Using Cloaked Pay is a straightforward process that integrates directly into your online shopping habits. It all starts with having a primary payment method, like a credit card, debit card, or bank account, securely linked to your Cloaked account as a funding source.

Once your funding source is set up, here is how a typical transaction works:

1. Generate a Cloaked Card: When you're ready to pay on a merchant's website, you first go to your Cloaked Wallet and select the option to create a new card. A unique 16-digit card number, expiration date, and CVV code are instantly generated for you.
2. Set Card Controls (Optional but Recommended): Before using the card, you have the option to customize its rules. You can name the identity the card is tied to based on the service you’re using it for (e.g., "Netflix") and set a specific spending limit. This powerful feature allows you to cap the card's spending per transaction, per month, or for its total lifetime, ensuring a merchant can never overcharge you.
3. Pay at Checkout: Copy the generated Virtual Card details and paste them into the payment form on the merchant's website, just as you would with any regular credit card.
4. Secure Processing: When the merchant processes the charge, it will be processed through your Virtual Card first. Our system then authorizes the transaction and securely passes the charge to your underlying funding source. The merchant never sees or handles your real financial details.

This same card can be used for ongoing, recurring payments with that merchant or it can be a one-time use card that you delete after a single purchase. You have complete control over the card's lifecycle. We recommend setting-up cards for ongoing, recurring payments so you’ll never have to think twice.